Stranded
by CountErebus
Summary: Two girls from a parallel universe appear through the Stargate under dubious circumstances. One of them seems to know McKay rather well...Can the people of Atlantis trust these mysterious newcomers? Set in Season 5. Reviews are always welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine.

In a beam of blue light, the first chevron activated. "What's going on?" Woolsey inquired as he moved to stand behind Chuck, "No teams are scheduled to come back for at least a few days."

"I don't know, Sir, it's not any of our teams." Chuck responded as the following seven chevrons locked. "Unscheduled off-world activation!"

"Raise the shield," Woolsey commanded.

Chuck typed a command. "It's not working."

"What do you mean it's not working!" came an acerbic voice. "Out of the way." With that, McKay took Chuck's chair and typed a quick set of instructions. His face fell, "It's not working."

"We've heard," said Woolsey as he turned to address the squadron, "Raise your weapons!"

In a split second, the defense team was gathered round the gate with P-90s pointed towards the luminescent pool. There was moment of tense anticipation. Suddenly, the gate spewed out two young girls clad in identical military uniforms. Their arms shot up into the air as soon as they registered the dozen guns pointed at them. "Don't shoot!" Cried one of the girls, her eyes wide with surprise and fear. The color drained from her round, freckled face as she looked around the room. "Please, we're not armed!" The girl next to her merely looked down at the floor with a grave face and said nothing.

"Who are you?" Woolsey addressed the two frightened girls with a rather softened voice, but his face was no less stern.

"My name is Rachel Beauvoir," answered the first girl, "and this is Marie McKay." Woolsey raised an eyebrow at the latter's name, while Rodney looked up so fast his neck cracked.

"Well, this has certainly turned interesting," drawled Sheppard. "Got anything you wanna tell us, Rodney?"

"What? No!" Squawked McKay, "I know as much you do right now. Which is both unprecedented and unnerving, I might add."

Sheppard rolled his eyes with a small smile before turning to Woolsey, his face suddenly serious. "The sole fact that they could disable our shield makes them an immediate threat. We need to find out how they did that."

Woolsey nodded. "I agree. I do believe an interrogation is in order. " He turned to look back at McKay. "Dr. McKay, please find out exactly what happened and report back as soon as possible."

McKay made a noise of acknowledgment, snatched his laptop, and left the room.

Woolsey turned to address the defense team. "Escort our guests to the isolation rooms. Colonel Sheppard, I'd like you run the interrogation."

"Will do," answered Sheppard as he, from habit, put a hand his side arm.

"Oh, and uh," Woolsey added, looking down at Sheppard's hand, "try to avoid a physical confrontation. They're just children, after all."

Sheppard found the object of Woolsey's gaze and dropped his hand immediately. "Of course. I know that."

"Good. We will begin at 1800 hours."


	2. Chapter 2

Sheppard sat across from Marie McKay and watched her carefully. She looked back at him, her eyebrows slightly raised and one hand drumming the table. "Do you have any more questions," asked Marie, finally breaking the silence, "or would you like another minute to admire my beautiful blue eyes?"

Sheppard gave her his trademark smile and leaned forward in his chair. "We can keep this going as long as it takes for me to get answers."

"But I've already told you everything!" Marie slammed her palms onto the table and regarded Sheppard with mingled frustration and fear. The latter merely raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair.

Marie had indeed answered every question with what sounded enough like the truth. The story was feasible, and it concurred with Rachel's version of events. According to the two girls, they were members of an SCG youth training group and had been scheduled to travel to Atlantis. They had been confused and alarmed by the hostility they had faced upon arrival. McKay had confirmed their story a couple of hours ago by returning with fully analyzed data and proclaiming that their guests were undoubtedly from a parallel reality. "It's like what happened at the SGC a few years ago," he had said, "you know, when dozens of SG-1s all arrived at the same reality."

"But the SCG eventually sent them back," Sheppard had said, sounding hopeful, "can't we just use Carter's calculations to do the same for these kids?"

"Ah, well, we have different variables do deal with this time."

"Which are what?" Woolsey had asked sounding wary.

"The SCG only had to deal with multidimensional displacement, which was easy enough to fix once Sam had the calculations down and a powerful enough energy source to carry out the process. We, however, have a time component to deal with."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that we have but a single window in time to send those girls back, and I have no idea when that is yet. Could be years from now, could be seconds."

"Wait, wait! How did that even happen?"  
"Uh, well, we're still working on that. But I think that some kind of energy pulse must have have gone through the gate along with the girls, and it acted like a – like a solar flare of some sort. They could be from a fraction of a second to centuries away from their actual time line. So its not just a matter of getting them back to their own universe, but also to their own time. And the two are intricately connected, so, no, we can't work on the two problems separately."

"Well," Sheppard had said, trying to keep a note of optimism in his voice, "that...certainly complicates things a bit."

"Hmm, you're telling me," McKay had retorted with an exasperated eye roll, "I'm the one who's expected to pull a solution out of my ass."

So that had been that. McKay and Zelenka had been assigned with the task of getting Rachel and Marie back to their own time-space, while Sheppard was in charge gathering information. The latter job had become rather tricky. Though Marie's story had all the elements of truth, her body language did not. As she spoke, Marie's eyes darted from the table in front of her, to the walls surrounding her, and back to her chipped black nail polish. This resolute avoidance of eye contact felt wrong to Sheppard, so he looked for other signs of deceit. He searched Marie's face, but could see nothing behind the mask of calm composure. As she spoke, her voice was even and almost defiant in its confidence, as though daring Sheppard to find a flaw in her logic. He found none, yet he could not shake the feeling that the girl in front of him was keeping something back.


	3. Chapter 3

**scr1tno and lizard:** Thank you so much for reviewing! You guys make my day! I hope you like the next part. I'll try to update as often as I can, but finals are coming up, so I might have to delay this story for a little while in the future. Anyways, enjoy!

"Do you trust them?" Ronon's hard gaze compelled Sheppard to answer.

"I don't know." Sheppard looked down at his turkey sandwich thoughtfully before looking up again. "Rachel's telling the truth. Or at least she thinks she is. Marie's telling the same story, but...she doesn't feel right. My gut's telling me there's something else."

Ronon nodded as he speared his potato. "Trust your instincts. They're usually pretty good."

"Thanks, buddy."

Ronon's word quota was fulfilled, so he and Sheppard ate the rest of their meal in silence. After they had cleared their plates, Sheppard made his way to the labs, where he expected to find McKay pouring over new data or abusing his fellow scientists. Or both. That man sure could multi task. For once, however, Sheppard was not going there with the purpose of winding his friend up. Far from it. He braced himself for the formidable McKay panic attack that would undoubtedly follow his news. Sheppard reasoned, however, that McKay would probably rather hear it from him.

Two transporters and seven hallways later, he reached his destination. Hovering awkwardly by the door, Sheppard watched as McKay barked instructions at his staff. Flailing his arms and walking around the lab to check everyone else's work, McKay did not seem to notice the lone figure leaning against the door frame. "Hey buddy."

McKay looked around for the source of this interruption and found Sheppard standing a few feet away from him. "Sheppard, I'm busy! What's it is?"

Sheppard shrugged. "Nothin' much. Just have something interesting to tell you." He looked around the the lab nonchalantly and twiddled his thumbs as he waited for McKay to take the bait.

He did not have to wait long. "How interesting?"

"Barely."

McKay rolled his eyes and let out a exasperated sigh. "Alright. I'll bite. What do you have to tell me?"

Grinning at his victory, Sheppard grabbed McKay by the arm and pulled him out of the lab.

"Argh! Stop manhandling me, you hooligan! Where are you taking me?"

"The mess. We're getting dinner."

"I already had dinner," McKay protested.

"Two cups of coffee and a power bar don't count as dinner, Rodney."

"So Jennifer keeps saying. Fine, we'll go, but don't even _think _you're getting any of my fries!" McKay pouted.

"Aw, you're so _cute_ when you've resigned yourself to the inevitable."

"Shut up!"

The mess was mostly empty by the time McKay and Sheppard arrived. Not a particular fan of crowds, Sheppard was thankful for this. As usual, he grabbed a glass of orange juice and a sandwich, while McKay loaded his tray with a mountain of fries and a large desert. Sheppard eyed McKay's plate dubiously. "I thought you said you already ate."

"Hypoglycemia!"

"Right..."

They were silent for a moment after sitting down. Nothing of note happened for a while, besides Sheppard's failed attempt to take one of Rodney's fries. Finally, Rodney looked up and asked the question. "So?"

"So what?"

"So what'd you want to tell me," retorted McKay as he fixed Sheppard with his patented you're-an-idiot look.

"Ah, yes. _That_."


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long! My life's been pretty hectic lately. Just know that I don't intend to quit this story until I finish, so don't worry about that. Enjoy!_

"So what'd you want to tell me," retorted McKay as he fixed Sheppard with his patented you're-an-idiot look.

"Ah, yes. _That_." Sheppard took a bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly as he though about how best to phrase what he wanted to say. "You remember those kids from the parallel reality?"

"Is that a legitimate question? I've had to spend day and night working on how to get them back. Why?"

"Well, didn't you think that Marie's last name was a little...too familiar?" All Sheppard had to do at this point was to wait for McKay's formidable intellect to put the pieces together.

"Yeah," McKay answered slowly, "yeah..." His eyes suddenly widened. "No!"

"'Fraid so, buddy."

"Uncle, right?"

"Nope."

"Brother? Aunt? Second cousin twice removed? C'mon, throw me a bone, here!"

"What do you want me to say, Rodney? You know the answer already. How 'bout I spell it out for both of us: You're that girl's father! Well, not _you_ you. I mean the you from the parallel reality."

McKay was uncharacteristically silent for a long while. When he spoke, it was in a quiet, rather hesitant voice. "What should I do? What should I say? I mean, I've never met her in my life – well, obviously, her being from an parallel reality, and all – I have no idea what she expects from me!"

"Can't help you there, Rodney. I'm not exactly equipped for these kinds of situations."

"What, you mean the relative-from-a-parallel-reality-shows-up-out-of-the-blue kinds of situations?"

"Well...yeah." Putting his juice down, Sheppard rose from his seat. Rodney, having finished his own meal, followed suit. "Tell you what: How about we grab a couple of beers, walk down to the West Pear, and...mull this over?"

Rodney stared at Sheppard. "Are you offering to talk me through this?"

"No, I'm offering to drink beer with you. You'll probably want advice from someone a little less prone to screwing these things up, like Teyla."

McKay's retorting sigh was one of mingled desperation and exasperation. "But Teyla will just tell me to be myself and follow my heart, or something equally Zen. Right now I need something a little more tangible, you know?"

"Basically," said Sheppard with a small smirk, "you want me to tell you what to do."

"Essentially, yes."

Shaking his head, Sheppard ran a hand over the panel and his door hissed open. He walked to his fridge, pulled out two beers and tossed one to McKay. "I'm not going to do that."

Cradling their beers, the two men walked together in silence, both deep in thought. After a while, McKay turned to Sheppard and asked "How long are you gonna keep them locked up. They've already been interrogated, haven't they?"

Sheppard did not answer right away."They've been interrogated, yes."

"And?"

"And don't think there's any reason to keep them in the isolation wards for much longer. I'll recommend to Woolsey that he let them out tomorrow."

McKay raised an eyebrow at him. "I sense a 'but'."

Sheppard hesitated for a moment, but then answered "No 'but's to speak of."

"Not on you, anyways."

"Right...Hey!"

McKay snickered.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys feed my heart :) Enjoy!_

Sheppard rapped a knock on Wolsey's office door. "Come in," came the latter's voice from within. "Ah, Colonel Sheppard."

"Mr. Woolsey."

Sheppard stepped inside and made his way to where Woolsey was seated. The latter motioned to the a comfortable looking chair in front of him. "Please, have a seat."

"Nah, I'm good. This will only take a second."

"Very well." Woolsey leaned back in his chair and waited for Sheppard to speak.

"I recall you asking me to prepare a recommendation in regards to our visitors."

"Yes, I did, that's correct," answered Woolsey with a nod before adding, "I also recall asking it be in writing. This is fine, however, because..." he leaned forward and reached into the bottom drawer of his desk, from which he extracted a small tape recorder. Woolsey smiled fondly at it. "I ordered a couple dozen of these after giving one to Ronon. I've found them extremely useful – they've cut my paper work down considerably..." Waving the rest of his thought away, Woosey suddenly stood. Beckoning Sheppard to follow him, he walked through the door and out of his office. There was a soft click as Woolsey began recording. "Well, Colonel, what do you recommend?"

"Well, Rodney doesn't know how long we'll have Rachel and Marie here. For all we know, it could be a long while. Therefore, I suggest we let them out for now. Maybe set up a couple of rooms were they can stay while we wait for Rodney to come up with something. They don't seem to be a threat. Not that we shouldn't be careful, but we don't need to treat them like hostiles." Sheppard broke off and looked around. He had been walking alongside Woolsey without taking note of where the latter was leading him. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to tell the girls their verdict. I agree with you, Colonel. It would be absurd to keep them in confinement for being the unfortunate victims of a freak accident."

Sheppard frowned. "We don't know that bit for sure."

"You questioned both girls yourself and reported that their stories and the evidence concurred. You stated that they're not a threat just a minute ago. Is there anything you'd like to add?"

Woolsey eyes searched Sheppard's face as the latter grimaced. "Nothing substantial. Just...keep an eye on them."

Woolsey nodded. "Of course. That goes without saying."

Sheppard smiled. "Good. Just making sure Atlantis hasn't eroded your sense of caution."

"If anything, it's strengthened it."

After walking in silence for the a few minutes, the two men reached their destination. They stood in front of two iron doors guarded by a pair of brawny marines who saluted to Sheppard as soon as he approached. "At ease." Sheppard ran a hand over the first door's panel and it opened with a hiss.

Rachel stood up at the moment her door slid open and looked from Woolsey to Sheppard with an unspoken question. A scatter of freckles stood out against her pale, anxious face, framed by mousy blond locks that had freed themselves from a tight bun. Woolsey gave her a small encouraging smile, and her face relaxed a little. "I apologize for your temporary confinement. It was a necessary precaution we had to exercise until we were certain that you don't pose a threat to our base –"

"We're here by accident. We don't want to harm anyone, we just want to go home –" Woolsey held up a hand to silence her. "Yes, we quite understand that now. We have our top scientists working on a way to send you back. We will discuss the matter later, however. At the moment, you and your friend are going for a standard checkup, just to make sure everything is in order."

Rachel nodded, looking much less nervous than a minute ago. "Have you told Marie yet?"

"We were just about to," answered Woolsey as he moved away from the door to let Rachel pass, "feel free to come with us."

"I think I will, thank you."

Sheppard nodded to the marine guarding Rachel's door, who took that as his cue to step away and leave for some other soldierly task. Then, Sheppard stepped forward to open Marie's door with a swipe of his palm.

_I fear I've given you a rather uneventful chapter. But don't worry, there are more exciting things to come! Stay tuned!_


	6. Chapter 6

Sheppard nodded to the marine guarding Rachel's door, who took that as his cue to step away and leave for some other soldierly task. Then, Sheppard stepped forward to open Marie's door with a swipe of his palm.

As the door opened, the light from the hallway illuminated a small figure buried deep in darkness. It was still, but for the rise and fall of its chest as it took deep, measured breaths. "Marie," Rachel called from the doorway, "Marie, it's past noon." The figure shifted slightly and gave a small groan. "Marie, get up."

There was another, louder groan, before a muffled voice said "Traveling to a parallel reality can give one the worst case of jet lag." Then, a pair of boots hit the floor with a loud _thump_. "There, I'm up." Marie's short, dark hair was slightly ruffled, but other than that she looked very much awake. Her sharp blue eyes looked up to examine each of the three faces before her. Then a small, unreadable smile dawned on her face. "Letting us out, then?"

"For now," answered Sheppard, his features hard and serious.

Marie, however, did not appear intimidated. "Cool," she said simply.

***

After explaining the new circumstances to Marie, Woolsey took his leave and left Sheppard to escort their new guests to the infirmary for their scheduled checkup. He, Rachel and Marie walked in silence down a series of glossy, humming hallways. Though enduringly beautiful, Atlantis's architecture was old news to Sheppard, but the palatial sight was new to the two girls next to him, so they walked with wide eyes and gaping mouths, occasionally gasping at a particularly neat piece of technology.

As they approached the infirmary, a pair of voices engaged in merry chatter could be heard from within. There was a short bout of laughter, then silence. Coming nearer, Sheppard, Rachel, and Marie could see that the now tenderly kissing pair consisted of Rodney McKay and Jennifer Keller. With one last peck and a parting wave, McKay made his way out of the infirmary through a back door, oblivious of any witnesses to his display of affection. With a wince, Sheppard turned to look at Marie. Icy blue pools shone through her narrowed eyelids, and the edges of her mouth were downturned in a quivering scowl. The unguarded look of sadness and anger in Marie's face, however, was quickly screened by an indifferent frown. Not sure of what to say or do, Sheppard led her and Rachel into the infirmary without comment.

"Hey, Doc."

Keller smiled up at Sheppard. "Hi, Colonel. These are our guests, I presume." She smiled down at Rachel and Marie in turn. Rachel returned the smile with a rather shy one of her own, while Marie ignored the friendly gesture as she made a show of examining her surroundings.

Keller's face fell a little at this, and she looked up at Sheppard questioningly. As usual, he was unreadable behind his nonchalant expression. "Right. This is Rachel Beauvoir and Marie McKay." He pointed each girl out in turn. "Kids, this is Dr. Keller. She's going to be doing your checkup."

"Don't worry, it's completely painless," added Keller with a reassuring smile.

"Not worried," answered Marie with a sarcastic smile of her own, "I'm used to under qualified interns poking me with needles. Just try to get the air out first, okay?" Keller's smile vanished and she blinked indignantly.

Sheppard cleared his throat. "Dr. Keller is our Chief of Medicine, and one of our leading experts in Medical Biochemistry. In short, I'd advise to stay on her good side, or you might get poked more times than you'd like."

Marie's frown deepened in an uncanny resemblance to McKay's more peeved expressions. Sensing danger, Rachel stepped in. "Shall we start the checkup?"

"Sure," Keller answered, smiling at her.

"Yeah, you do that," said Sheppard, "I'm going to get the rooming situation settled meanwhile, but I'll be back before you're done. You guys gonna be okay?"

"We'll be fine, Colonel."


	7. Chapter 7

After leaving the infirmary and delegating the rooming job to Lorne (who probably further delegated it to a lower ranking soldier), Sheppard went to look for McKay. As he expected, he found the scientist hiding out in the labs. McKay looked up from the laptop in front of him at the sound of his friend's footsteps. "Sheppard."

"McKay." Sheppard took a seat next to him.

"Look, I know what you're here to say. And – and I don't think it's my problem." McKay looked down at his keyboard defiantly. "I've never even met the girl, so forgive me if I'm not all warm and fuzzy with parental affection. It's not my problem! It's _his_ mess, so I'm washing my hands off it effective immediately." He made a brusque hand washing motion and flung down an invisible towel. "There. Done. I don't want to hear any more about it! Okay?"

Sheppard raised his eyebrows at his agitated friend. "I was actually just here to remind you about team movie night."

McKay deflated at that. "Oh. Well, good!" There was a short, awkward silence. Then, with an obvious attempt at nonchalance, McKay asked "It's Ronon's turn to pick, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, If he thinks I'm going to sit through another _Rambo_ marathon, he can just...what's wrong?" McKay had suddenly noticed Sheppard's face, the closed off, tight mouthed expression that always signaled danger.

Sheppard did not answer right away, but when he did, it was in that low monotonous tone he used when there was an emotion lurking under the surface he did not want to expose. "For the record, Marie's not the other McKay's problem either. Not anymore, anyways."

McKay's face darkened in an irritated glower. "So we're back to that, are we? At least clue me in on what the hell you're talking about now."

"As I understand it, both Rachel and Marie are property of the U.S. government now. She's an orphan, and Rachel, I take it, is a runaway."

McKay blanched. "_What_?"

"I think their SGC's got dibs on them at the moment, though. You know, 'nurture the talented young,' and all that. But why should you care? She's not your problem, remember?"

With a gaping mouth, McKay visibly struggled through a series of emotions, and Sheppard watched him without uttering a word. Finally, the latter stood up. "Well, you look busy," he said, gesturing to an open game of Free Cell on McKay's laptop, "I should probably get going." Without further ado, Sheppard left a conflicted looking McKay sitting alone on in an empty lab.

***

Later that day, Sheppard was getting his ass quite literally kicked by Teyla in a sparring match. After he swung at and missed her for the umpteenth time, Sheppard gave up and threw his stick to the floor, sulking as he regained his breath. Teyla placed her own stick down gently and approached Sheppard with a concerned expression on her face. "John, something is troubling you. Would you like to talk about it?"

Still panting, Sheppard shook his head and bent to pick up his stick. "What do you say to a rematch?"

Teyla, however, placed a hand on Sheppard's arm to stop him. "I think that is enough for today." Her dark eyes looked up at him in worry. "Please know that I am here to listen, if you need to talk." She raised her eyebrows slightly, egging him to speak.

Sheppard sighed, finally relenting to Teyla. He felt a little frustrated at the fact that he never seemed to win at anything with her. "It's that damn McKay," he admitted with a scowl.

"Rodney?"

"Yeah."

"Have the two of you been fighting?" Sheppard could hear Teyla try to refrain a reprimand.

"Not exactly." He sighed again, and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought about how to explain the root of his frustration. "It's just – he's just like my father sometimes." It sounded idiotic to his own ears as soon as the statement slipped out of his mouth. But it was true nonetheless.

"Rodney is like your father?" Teyla raised an eyebrow, evidently confused.

"He said something today – something that reminded me of him." Sheppard paused, and Teyla waited for him to continue. "My father always preferred his job to his family, or at least it always seemed that way to me. If I had a penny for every missed football game, every forgotten birthday, every time he just didn't have time for me... When I finally walked out, he didn't call, he didn't write – he just wrote me out of his life. I waited for him, all that time, to just write me a one line email – to check if I was still alive. He never did. Maybe he was too stubborn, maybe he just didn't care. I guess I'll never know, will I?" Sheppard looked down at his hands, a sad smile on his face.

Teyla looked at him with mingled pity and concern. "Rodney is a good man, and your friend. He would never abandon you in that way."

Sheppard shook his head. "It wasn't me I was thinking of."

Teyla frowned. "I am not sure I understand."

"That girl from the alternate reality, Marie, is his daughter. Well, in her reality."

A look of comprehension lit Teyla's face. "I see. John, you must understand that this is a difficult situation for Rodney. Give it time." She patted his arm, the warmth of her hand lingering on Sheppard's shirt in a rather comforting way before she pulled away and picked up her stick. "You mentioned a rematch?"


	8. Chapter 8

After picking up a slice of pizza and a can of coke, Marie skulked quietly towards the mess hall's exit. Before she could reach her destination, however, Marie felt a hand on her shoulder. On turning around, she came face to face with Jennifer Keller. A scowl darkened Marie's face. She had still not decided why she disliked the young doctor so much. She tried to convince herself that it had nothing to do with the scene she had witnessed at the infirmary. In the end, she decided that Keller smiled too much, which was annoying. "Hi," said Keller with a friendly smile, "can I talk to you?" Marie shrugged and followed her to a nearby table. "Listen," Keller said when the two of them had taken a seat, "I know we got off on the wrong foot." Marie didn't answer, so Keller continued, "I'd really like for us to be on better on better terms, though. As you've probably noticed, there aren't a lot of girls here in Atlantis," Keller chuckled and rolled her eyes goodnaturedly, "Us ladies have to stick together, you know? So I was hoping we could be friends. Are you willing to give that a try?"

Marie pretended to think about it. "You mean," she said in a wistful voice, "I'd have someone to braid my hair? Someone I can talk about guys with? Golly, I've been _hoping_ to find a girlfriend who can give me makeup advice. You think we could do all that?"

Keller's smile broadened and she nodded. "Sure."

Marie had to chuckle at that. "Look, Doctor Keller –"

"You can call me Jennifer."

"I'd rather not." Marie looked down at her tray and shook her head. "I have no interest in being your friend."

Uncomfortable silence settled over the table. Finally, a frowning Keller said "So this is what you get for extending an olive branch. I just seemed like you needed someone to talk to, someone who understands what its like to be all alone in a scary, unfamiliar place."

"I don't need your sympathy."

"That's not what I was offering." Keller gave a sad sigh and picked up her tray. "Enjoy you meal." With that, she left Marie sitting alone. After a few minutes, Marie picked up her own tray and headed to her room.


	9. Chapter 9

_Finals are mercifully over, so I can finally devote more time to writing! Thanks to Jodz92, scr1tno, and z'yiandria for reviewing! You awesome support motivates me to keep going, even when the craft is giving me a hard time (as it does from time to time :D). Enjoy!_

When she had finished her meal, Marie collapsed upon her bed and turned the radio on at full volume. She let herself sink into the sound, let it wash over her and drown the guilt that had been prickling at her since she left the mess. She had been mean and she knew it. Though cold and distant, Marie never allowed herself to stoop to meanness. That kind of behavior risked vulnerability and elevated the exchange to a personal level. That would not do at all, especially in the current circumstances. Closing her eyes, Marie concentrated on how the song's harsh tune pounded in her insides, each note a blow.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Miffed at having to having to get up from bed, she opened the door to find Rachel staring down at her with guarded annoyance. "Do you mind turning your volume down? I'm trying to analyze some data and the noise is very distracting."

"Sorry about that." Marie moved to turn her dial down. "I didn't think anyone was around. Most people are at the mess right now."

"I would be too," Rachel answered, "but I can't find it, so I'm just living off rations."

Marie cocked her head in interest. "Why didn't you just ask someone?"

"I did. I asked a technician named Chuck and he gave me a map."

"Did you loose it?"

Rachel looked uncomfortable. "No. It's – it's in my room. I've just...never been very good with maps. How did you get that music to play?" she added quickly.

"With that," Marie pointed to her improvised radio.

Rachel squinted at it. "Did you make that?" she asked, as she drew closer to inspect the device.

"It actually wasn't that difficult. All you have to do is –"

"Yes, yes, I can see how you made it," Rachel cut in with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Connecting the room's speaker system to your giant mp3 player...Clever, but not very original. And it does pose the problem of disrupting communications."

"My mp3 player's not that big," Marie objected. "Still," she added, "do you think you could do better?"

"Well..." Rachel looked down at the radio again, "I'm not sure. But I have a few ideas."

"Cool," answered Marie with a smile. "Do you think you could take a look at it? I've been trying to improve the sound quality but it's remained depressingly substandard."

"I'm not a fully trained engineer yet. Until I have my license, I'd rather not mess with the communication systems."

"I've already pretty much killed the system in this room. I don't really think you could make it worse at this point," Marie pointed out.

"Well..." Rachel looked dubious, but then she nodded. "Okay. I suppose I could give it a shot. We'll have to restore communications, for starters. You don't want the system to malfunction during an emergency, do you? _Then_ we can worry about the rest." She bit a fingernail as she thought.

"Didn't you say you were analyzing some data?"

"Oh, right. Yes. I should probably go finish that."

As Rachel made to leave, Marie asked "What are you analyzing?"

"Tachyon particles produced in induced naquadria decay. It's for an assignment."

"An assignment!" Marie laughed. "We're stranded in an alternate reality! I don't think they'll be too harsh if you hand it in late."

Rachel frowned. "I'd rather not take my chances. See you later, then." With an awkward parting wave, she left the room.

Marie shook her head then headed back to the bed, where she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

_I'm a little reluctant to give my OCs too much screen time, because it tends to turn off the readers. There is quite a back story to them that I'd like to include, but I'm not sure how to go about it yet (as I don't want to bore you guys!). Let me know what you think. It'd be awesome if you could clue me in on what you would be interested in learning more about, etc. Thanks for reading! :)_


	10. Chapter 10

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are awesome! The consensus seems to be that more character development for my OCs is good, so that's what I plan to do. Thanks for helping me out! _

Ronon was up at the crack of dawn for his usual morning run with Sheppard. He stretched as he waited for the latter to join him. A few seconds later, Sheppard trotted up to greet his friend looking wide awake, bright eyed, and ready to go. Without preamble, Ronon set off at a steady trot, which Sheppard followed with ease. After they had been at this speed for a while, Ronon, smiling wickedly, fired the intensity up a notch. Or ten notches. Sheppard kept up with the larger man, but breathed a little more heavily with the effort. "Why do you always do that?" Sheppard got out between breaths.

"'Cause I can," Ronon answered simply.

"Well, it's not very nice." Ronon grinned at that.

The two men ran in silence for the hour or so that followed, enjoying the bite of fresh morning air and the sting of rigorous exercise. Suddenly, Ronon spoke. "You're better today."

"Better than what?" Sheppard panted, lagging a little behind,

"Better than yesterday," Ronon responded. Sheppard waited for him to elaborate, and, to his great surprise, Ronon opened his mouth to say more. "You were weird yesterday. Out of character."

"Yeah. Sorry. About. That." Sheppard said between heaving pants. "Okay, enough. Enough." Sheppard stopped and clutched his knees as he recovered his breath. "Jesus, Ronon! How. Do you always manage. To make me run. To within an inch. Of my life?"

Ronon looked down at Sheppard as the latter dripped sweat onto the floor. "Maybe you're getting old." Many brave men would have run at the look Sheppard gave Ronon at that moment. Ronon merely waited with a raised eyebrow for his offended running partner to regain his breath. Sheppard did not take long to recover, and was quickly upright and wiping sweat from his brow. "So what happened yesterday?"

Sheppard stiffened and remained silent for a while. Then, he asked Ronon "Remember the time you came to Earth?"

"Yeah. For your father's funeral."

Sheppard nodded. "It's been a year and a day since his death. Got me thinking about all that could have been, all that wasn't because the two of us were too damn stubborn to make it happen." He sighed and shook his head. "You wanna grab breakfast?"

"Sure." Ronon led the way, as he always did when there was food or fighting involved. They were a long way from the mess hall, which was all the way across the city. The walk back was an enjoyable prospect, however, with the crisp morning air blowing on their faces and the waves of the ocean singing its familiar song.

Suddenly, Ronon stiffened and held out a hand to stop Sheppard. "What did you see?" the latter whispered and he reached for where his sidearm usually rested.

"There's someone there." Ronon pointed to a tall column a few yards from them. He edged closer with impressive stealth for someone so large. Sheppard followed close behind.

"It's too early for someone to be wandering so far from their quarters. Maybe another jogger?"

"Why's he hiding, then?"

"Good point."

The two men sprang to either side of the column at the same time, inciting a startled yell from the person lurking behind it. "Ahhh!"

"Marie?"

She looked up at Sheppard in irritation. "Why would you _do _that?"

"Why were you hiding here?" Sheppard shot back.

"Because I wasn't particularly inclined to having a chat with anyone just now. I heard someone coming, so I decided to step out of the way until whoever it was had gone."

Sheppard frowned and squinted slightly. "Okay," he said slowly.

"Am I excused?"

Sheppard nodded, flashed a small smile at Marie, and stepped out of her way. She nodded at him, then at Ronon, and walked away. In a second, she had disappeared around a corner. Sheppard looked over at Ronon, a thoughtful expression on his face. "What do you think she was up to at this hour, all the way across the city?"

Ronon did not answer right away, but stared intently at the spot where Marie had just disappeared. "Exploring enemy territory," he answered in a slow, contemplative manner. "We used to send young Satedan soldiers to look around like that. Usually right before we invaded."

Sheppard thought about that for a few seconds. "You know," he said at last, "I had the same suspicion."

_Some of this chapter was devoted to giving an explanation for what seemed like out of character Sheppard behavior. Some readers have commented on it, and I can see where they're coming from. Sheppard was a little too...emotionally involved where McKay and Marie's relationship was concerned. On a normal day, I see him as disapproving but not overly emotional about it. I'll try to be more careful with him in the future :)_


	11. Chapter 11

Marie tucked a control crystal into her vest as she walked away. She could feel the two men's gazes burning a hole in her back, but did not look around. Soon enough, she had disappeared from their view around a corner. She would have to get up earlier next time. But then again, it would raise suspicion if she was found wandering the halls at an unreasonably early hour. She would just have to be careful.

Suddenly deciding upon an early breakfast, Marie rerouted to the mess hall. It would be blessedly empty at that hour, but she would probably take the food up to her room regardless.

Her prediction proved correct. There were a pair of exhausted looking scientists nursing steaming cups of coffee in one corner, and a group of marines laughing over juice at another table. Ignoring them, Marie made her way to the food. Although she was technically not allowed to have coffee until she was sixteen, she grabbed a cup anyways. Sixteen was only a few months away. And there was no one to ground her anymore. Taking the coffee and a cinnamon bun, she walked out of the mess and took the now familiar route to her room.

When she reached her destination, Marie saw a dark woman she recognized approaching the door next to hers as she carried a tray laden with foreign fruits and some tea. With a swipe of her delicate hand, the woman's door opened to the sound of a child's cooing. "Oh, he is awake," the woman said to herself with a small smile. Suddenly, she looked up at Marie, who was not quick enough to make a break for her room before being forced to interact. "Marie? I notice that you have a tray. Would you like to join me?"

Marie considered fabricating an excuse to retreat to her room and eat on her own. If she was ever going to get these people to trust her, however, she should at least attempt to establish friendly relations with some of them. After all, she had already ruined any chance of friendliness with one person on Atlantis. Befriending this pleasant, smiling stranger should even the balance. "Sure. You're Tanya right?"

"I am Teyla."

"Oh." Marie reddened slightly at Teyla's amused expression. "Sorry. I, uh, I'm not very good with names."

"That is alright. Please, come in." Teyla indicated to her room.

"Oh, in your –? Yeah, of course."

Teyla's room was cozy and well lit. Tastefully placed ornaments adorned the walls and surfaces, giving the space the same exotic aura its occupant emanated. "Please, take a seat." Teyla indicated a comfortable looking chair in front of a low table.

As Marie sat down, she though about what she could say that would be pleasant and vague enough so as not to get her in trouble. Finally, she settled upon "I didn't know you lived next door."

"Nor did I. That room has been vacant for quite some time. It used to belong to Dr. Heightmeyer." Teyla's eyes drifted for moment and she smiled sadly to herself.

Marie decided against asking about Dr. Heightmeyer, but before she could think of what else to say, Teyla spoke again. "How are you and Rachel settling in?"

Marie thought about how best to answer that. She decided that the truth would do, in this case. "Well, we were hoping we wouldn't have to 'settle in'. But as things are, I think we're okay."

Teyla smiled. "I am glad to hear that. I understand your impatience, but you must remember that some very intelligent minds are working on the problem. I am certain that they will find a way to send you home soon."

"I suppose." Teyla gave an approving nod and sipped her tea. Suddenly, Marie heard a child's cry from the corner of the room. As she turned her head towards the sound, her eyes found a crib. Teyla was upon the it in a second. She rocked it gently as she looked lovingly at its contents. "I apologize," said Teyla, turning back to Marie. "Torren has a most unusual sleeping pattern, and when he awakens at this hour, it is often best to rock him back to sleep."

"It's fine," answered Marie with a smile. Something stirred within her at the sight of the mother and child. She remembered how her own mother used to sit with her until she fell asleep after a bad dream. Tears prickled at her eyes, but she fought them back and swallowed down the now familiar lump in her throat. Teyla was too busy with her baby to notice anything. "Would you do anything for him?" Marie asked abruptly.

Teyla looked up in surprise. "Of course," she answered, "he is my son."

"Would you die for him?"

"I would." Teyla looked concerned at Marie's darkened expression.

Marie glowered at the floor. "Why do parents always think that's so _noble._ Don't they know the damage it'll cause? Can't they see that the kid is sometimes just better off dead?"

Teyla shook her head. "We gave him life and have a duty to preserve it. It is not a matter of nobility, Marie. It is love."

"Love is stupid," Marie hissed to the floor.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thanks to scr1tno, LyraRosier, and jodz92 for reviewing! Sorry for taking so long to update, but this chapter gave me a lot of trouble. I've fixed it as much as I can, but please let me know if there are any spots where I can do better :) Thanks for reading!_

Back in her room that night, Marie agonized over her failure at that whole "making friends" thing. She did not generally loose sleep over this well established deficiency, but for the first time in her life, an ability to socialize was absolutely essential to her mission. Waves of dislike and distrust radiated from Sheppard, Ronon, Keller, and practically every other person she had encountered thus far in Atlantis. Again, not at all unusual, but in this context they wounded her (she was still not sure why), and, far more importantly, they interfered with her objective. She needed these people to trust her before she did anything substantial.

To be fair, Marie did seem to have gotten somewhere with Teyla before her little outburst. Although she had attempted to remedy the situation, she could not quite erase the look of sympathy and concern on Teyla's face. After a while, Marie had given up and left, but not without acquiescing to Teyla's request that she have breakfast with her the following day.

Rachel, meanwhile, kept to herself even more than Marie did. She had, however, at least avoided the animosity that plagued the latter. Sometimes Marie questioned the SGC's judgment in sending two such painfully awkward teenagers on this task.

Despite this, the two girls were doing surprisingly well in their new environment. Rachel was thankfully out of Marie's way most of the time, too wrapped up in her own anxieties to worry about what the latter was up to. A twinge of guilt haunted Marie at the knowledge that Rachel had both been dragged into and kept in the dark about something that could affect her profoundly. Apparently oblivious to Marie's plotting and planning, Rachel passed her time by taking careful notes on Atlantian technology, becoming quite well versed on its basics.

And Marie...she grinned to herself in the darkness as she put away the latest member of her growing pile of glittering crystal control panels.

***

McKay looked up from his fries as a tray settled in front of him. He schooled his expression into one of annoyance as he prepared to tell Sheppard to leave him alone because he was both very busy and still upset with him for giving him the unexplained cold shoulder the day before. Blood drained from his face as he saw who really sat across from him. Eerily familiar blue eyes regarded him behind a curtain of dark bangs. "You've been doing a very good job of avoiding me," Marie said with a small, timid smile. She had his sister's smile.

"Apparently not good enough." McKay winced internally at the cold detachment in his voice. If there was anything Marie expected with their first encounter, it was probably not that.

Marie nodded, her smile faltering. "So it would seem. I'll try not to take it too personally."

McKay felt a pang of something he recognized after a few seconds as...regret. "Did – did you want something, or are you just here for the pleasant company?"

"I wanted to ask how the process of getting me and Rachel back is going."

McKay thought back to the dispiriting staff meeting of that morning where he and Zelenka were forced to admit the consecutive defeat of their many theories. "We still have several simulations to run and frankly the time factor is making the whole process rather difficult. There are a few ideas, mostly mine, ruminating at the moment, though."

Marie raised her eyebrows. "In other words, you've tried a bunch of things, none of which worked, and are now just hoping for a workable theory to grace you with its presence at some point." McKay looked taken aback, before nodding with reluctance. "I expected as much. I'd like to help."

McKay actually laughed at that, though he found the stern determination on her face...endearing? "Do you have the remotest idea of how complex this is? You'll be lucky if you can understand even the most basic concepts of the problem, let alone know enough to do actually do something useful."

"Oh, I don't expect I'll understand anything at all. Rachel's the theoretical physicist slash engineer. No, I was hoping to leave that job to the experts and just worry about the programing."

McKay shook his head. "I've got the programing, so we should be alright in that department."

"_You've_ got the programing. God help us."

Putting down his fry, McKay looked up at Marie with narrowed eyes. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Don't get me wrong, but if you're doing the programing, I expect Rachel and I will be settling here for the long haul."

"What are you talking about? I'm the best programmer in this city! Hell, I'm the best in this _galaxy_!"

Marie looked amused at the outburst. "Maybe. I'm still better than you, though."

Could that be true? He was suddenly eager to test that theory. "Lets see you put your money where your mouth is. I'll see you in the lab tomorrow morning, eight o'clock sharp." With that, McKay picked up his tray and walked off in a huff. Marie chuckled to herself as she finished her pizza.


	13. Chapter 13

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time! Reading your comments always brightens my day. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter :)_

Marie blinked sleepily down at her coffee as she sat with Teyla for what had become their usual early morning breakfast. Teyla took a sip of her tea before looking up at Marie with a rather mischievous smile on her face. "I understand that your afternoons are free?"

Marie hesitated a moment before answering. "Yes," she said slowly, wondering where this was going.

"Rachel's as well?"

"As far as I know. Why?"

"I was wondering if the two of you would like to join me for sparring practice."

"Really?" She looked up from her coffee and tried to hold back an excited squeak. "Seriously? You would teach us how to do that twirl and wham thing?"

"Ah!" Teyla grinned in surprise. "You are familiar with the technique?"

"I found the gym by accident once and saw you practicing with Sheppard," Marie explained. "It was awesome! Who knew you could hurt someone in so many ways using only a pair of sticks?"

"He put up an admirable fight," Teyla said fairly.

"You totally kicked his little behind, though."

Teyla snorted into her tea before composing herself. "If you are not busy, I would like to see both you and Rachel at the gym this afternoon. I have not had the opportunity to make her acquaintance yet and would very much like to. Would you please pass along my invitation?"

"Sure," answered Marie with the first real, open smile she had worn in a long time. She and Teyla finished the rest of their breakfast in comfortable silence. Then, Marie declared that she had to get going if she wanted to beat McKay to the lab. Before leaving, however, Marie turned and gave Teyla an oddly appreciative look. "You know, you're pretty cool for someone who doesn't use speech contractions," she said before the door closed behind her.

***

As McKay turned into the hallway in which his lab was situated, he heard strange sounds emerging from within. He stopped in his tracks and reached instinctively for his side arm. "_Great_, Sheppard's been rubbing off on me," he muttered to himself. Weapon in hand, he took slow, cautious steps towards his lab. As he got nearer, the strange sounds became recognizable as words uttered in a bizzare mixture of a chant and a wail. "What the _hell_?" Curiosity aroused, he quickened his pace, gun still in hand, until he reached the door of his lab.

"Oops, I did it agaaain. I played with your heaaart. Got lost in this game. Oh, baby; baby..." Marie was sitting cross legged on one of the lab tables as she swayed to the rhythm of the music from her headphones.

"Good God, that's hideous! Here I thought _Sheppard_ had a bad voice." McKay stated, as he stepped into the lab.

Marie yelled and nearly fell off the table before she caught herself on a nearby laptop. "You're early," she stammered, looking embarrased.

"I'm always early," McKay retorted. "Was that Britney Spears?"

"What? _No_," Marie sputtered, "I – I don't listen to that stuff."

"Whatever. I'm just sorry to hear that we're not the only reality tormented by that histrionic socialite." McKay looked around his lab, seemingly noticing something unusual for the first time. "How did you get in here?"

"Dr. Z saw me standing outside and let me in," Marie explained as she slid off the table and moved towards the computers.

"Dr. Z?" McKay raised his eyebrows.

"That's what we call Radek at the SGC. We've decided it makes him sound like a soda label. Or a rapper." McKay blinked as he tried to shake off the disturbing imagery. "Shall we get started?"

***

McKay's head was still buzzing with frenzied excitement half an hour after he dismissed Marie for lunch. She had not been exaggerating. She was clearly a natural programmer. Beautiful, elegant code flowed effortlessly from her hands like water.

He tested and pushed her skills like he had his new recruits' many times before. Marie however, was undaunted. She was even confident enough to suggest some changes in his own code. McKay would usually have been defensive and derisive in such a situation, but he astonished himself by feeling only a vague sort of pride.

He surprised himself again by succumbing to disappointment, rather that his usual disdain, when it became clear that Marie's skills in science were unremarkable, as she had warned.

After several hours of oscillatory elation and frustration, mingled with a warm feeling he feared to name, McKay ordered her to leave and get something to eat.

He felt utterly drained.


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you lelephant1, scr1tno, and jodz92 for you wonderful reviews. I'm glad you guys have enjoyed the story thus far. _

_lelephant1, I'm afraid the next few chapters are going to be the 'filler chapters' that set up for the real action (which, I promise you, is coming). Be patient :) Thank you for your thoughtful criticism, though. I always appreciate any writing tips I can get. _

_Enjoy!_

Snapping out of her thoughts, Rachel heard a rhythmic tattoo from her door. Sliding the picture she had been gazing at back inside her vest, she got off her bed to open the door. She was surprised to find Marie waiting on the other side, wearing what looked like work out clothes. "Hello..." Rachel's greeting sounded more like a question.

"Hi!" Marie gave Rachel a little wave. "Are you busy? No? Great! We're going to the gym."

"We are?" Rachel blinked perplexedly at Marie as the latter nodded. "Why?"

"To work out. It's not a foreign concept. I personally have to get rid of that belly fat I seem to have accumulated during the winter. I'm sure you have your own body issues." When Rachel raised her eyebrows at her, Marie relented. "Teyla wants to meet you. You know who she is, right?" Rachel nodded. "Anyways, she asked me to ask you to meet us at the gym tonight. She would like to teach us the art of hitting people with sticks. I think that's how Teyla bonds, or something. Should be fun, eh?"

Rachel furrowed her brow as she considered the invitation. "I don't really have any work out clothes, and this is quite short notice."

"Sorry about that, by the way. I completely forgot about you until, well, right now," Marie said apologetically.

"Oh, that's alright. Everyone does." If Rachel sounded a little bitter, Marie did not appear to have noticed. Not that Rachel minded entirely, but she seemed to be pretty much invisible to everyone on this base. As she was not related to anyone in the city (that she was aware of), and had not yet publicly exhibited any special kind of skill, Rachel was left with the status of chopped liver. She could not help being just a little resentful sometimes.

Zoning back into the conversation, Rachel heard Marie say "Don't worry about the attire. They provide workout outfits and gear at the gym. Most of them are in burly Marine size, though. But you can probably make it work. So...coming?"

"Well..." Rachel thought about it, "sure."

***

After walking aimlessly for about fifteen minutes, Rachel and Marie came upon a solitary figure walking briskly with a laptop in hand. "Dr. Z!"

Zelenka swiveled around and regarded Rachel inquisitively. "Were you addressing me?"

"Yes, sir, I was," she responded, a little sheepishly. "I just – just wanted to say hello. Uh, perhaps I should introduce myself. Rachel Beauvoir," she extended a hand for Zelenka.

He eyed it warily. "I am not related to you, am I?"

"Oh no," Rachel laughed, "nothing like that. We do work together, though, in my reality, of course. I suppose I could call myself your apprentice. You, uh, basically taught me everything I know."

Zelenka smiled, looking surprised and flattered. "Well, perhaps you could show me what kind of teacher am I. Both of you have been learning at your SGC, yes?"

"That's right," Marie answered.

"Good!" Zelenka exclaimed. "I would love to see what you know. We have much to discuss. There is much I am curious to know. We must have lunch."

Rachel grinned and nodded her agreement. "We must. I would like to know more about the temporal variations in your space-time. I have some theories I would like to mull over with you, if that's alright."

"Perfectly alright," Zelenka answered. "However, I have only lunch free on most days, so we must meet then."

"Of course, I can come tomorrow," said Rachel.

"I can't," cut in Marie. "Dr. McTyrant usually likes us to bring our lunches to the lab and work while we eat. You two should still meet, though. I get the feeling you'll have a lot to talk about."

"Indeed we shall," Zelenka answered. "Well, I must get going, but I hope to see you again soon." With a parting wave, he strode the length of the corridor and disappeared around a corner. Rachel and Marie watched him go, only later slapping themselves over the head for forgetting to ask him where the gym was.

***

By the time Rachel and Marie finally arrived at the gym, Teyla was busy sparring with a man neither of the girls recognized. Like Sheppard, the man held his own rather well for a while, but eventually succumbed to Teyla's stick wielding wrath. Marie flinched in sympathy when the man's inevitable slam into the mat came. Putting her weapons down, Teyla offered a hand to help him up. "You are getting much better," she said, "but you must work on your balance."

"I could become a tightrope walker, but you'd probably still beat me," said the man with a friendly grin.

Teyla smiled at him before noticing the two girls standing near the doorway. She motioned the over. "Major Lorne, have you met Rachael Beauvoir and Marie McKay?"

"Haven't had the pleasure," Lorne answered. "Evan. Nice to meet you." He shook hands with each girl in turn. "Hey! You're McKay's kid, right?" he asked when he got to Marie.

She shrugged. "Not really."

He gave her a sympathetic look before turning back to Teyla. "Same time next week?"

"Yes, Major. That sounds good." Lorne nodded at her, waved the girls goodbye, and left with a towel draped over his shoulder.

Teyla turned to Rachel and Marie with mischievous smile. "Are both of you ready to begin?"

_I feel like Rachel has been rather ignored until now. I decided it was time for her to make an appearance, as she is important for...future events. I also wanted to have a little fun with the secondary characters Zelenka and Lorne, as they too will play a role later on. (Well, more Zelenka than Lorne). _


	15. Chapter 15

_Hi all! Yes, I realize it's been a while – but better late than never, right? Writer's block has unfortunately hit me hard lately. I know what is going to happen in the end, but I have still not entirely figured out the events in between. It's rather frustrating :( Any suggestions on things you would like to see later on, and constructive criticism of what I have written thus far, would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy! _

Marie had always found release in bruise inducing sports, especially those in which she got to bruise back. Hence, sparring with Rachel and Teyla, unleashing in blows the emotions that ate at her, was oddly relaxing. Sparring was a perfect combination of rough and elegant, and Marie caught on to the technique relatively quickly.

Rachel, on the other hand, had a hard time handling her rod, losing her balance and toppling over several times. Ever the overachiever, however, Rachel pushed forward until she could perform every move without embarrassing herself too terribly.

Teyla, in turn, was a kind but authoritative presence. She guided the two girls with patience, encouragement, and some rather useful, if odd, metaphors.

"You are a tree," Teyla told Rachel at one point, "if your roots are firm and wide, the wind cannot move you."

"She means balance you feet," Marie translated.

"I got that, thanks."

***

Teyla watched Marie carefully throughout the lesson, prodding and testing her as McKay had done, if a little more subtly. By the end of practice, Teyla was almost certain that the girl's skill was not born of instinct, but training. Her movements were not fluid and spontaneous, but firm and well-practiced.

"I am pleased with your performance today," Teyla told the girls at the end of the lesson. "We should do this again soon." The girls nodded their agreement soundlessly, still too out of breath to speak.

***

The next morning, Teyla and Marie decided to grab an early breakfast as usual. Marie would have asked Rachel to join them, but the latter did not appear to be in her room when she knocked. Or anywhere in the vicinity. Marie briefly wondered if she was the only one hiding a secret. Deducing that Rachel was either fast asleep or not there, Marie settled upon joining Teyla at the mess hall by herself.

When she arrived at their usual spot, Teyla was gazing out the window as she sipped a cup of hot chocolate. Unaware of Marie taking a seat in front of her, she continued to look towards the sea with a small frown on her face. "Hello? Anybody there?"

Teyla jumped slightly but greeted Marie with a tired, but sincere smile. "Oh, hello. I am sorry, I did not notice you there."

"Don't feel bad. I'm a master of stealth," Marie retorted.

"I see." Teyla's grin was cut across by a yawn.

"Torren kept you up again."

"Yes, he has been _colicky_ lately, as Rodney would say.

"Hmm. Apparently I was pretty bad when I was a baby, too. My preferred wailing hours were between two and six in the morning. I'm more flexible now, though."

Teyla chuckled. "I believe you. Though I imagine all those years of martial arts have served to mellow your temper somewhat."

Marie's eyebrows rose in surprise. "How'd you know about that. I'm pretty sure I didn't tell you."

"I have been a teacher for many years. I know training when I see it."

Marie answered with a shrug. "Alright. You got me. I may have thrown a punch or two before."

"Why did you not mention it before now?"

"I didn't want to brag." Teyla raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I _really _wanted to brag, but I was afraid you'd tell Sheppard, who'd shoot me on sight for being so sketchy." Teyla scrunched her eyebrows as she always did when she was unfamiliar with a word. "Sketchy: suspicious, shifty, fishy, about as trustworthy as a Colonel Mustard with a wrench."

Teyla nodded her comprehension. "I see. And why would Colonel Sheppard find you sketchy?"

Marie shrugged as the picked up her tray. "Beats me, I'm an angel." Giving Teyla a short wave, she left the table with the tray under her arm. She did not notice Teyla's pensive expression as her eyes followed her out.

***

As she sorted through her ever growing pile of control crystals, Marie vaguely considered labeling them. Really, it was getting ridiculous. Although she had a vague idea of what each of them did, and could somewhat distinguish them from each other, there was still the danger of pulling off the wrong one – and then they were all royally screwed. Unfortunately, Dr. Z had not gone into great depth about how to ward off the various potential catastrophes associated with her guesstimation methods.

Thus far, however, things were going pretty much according to plan. Peripheral systems were methodically extracted from general control and given over to a central operator. For now, this central operator was McKay's server, but not for long. All Marie needed to complete her objective was either McKay's password or a way to hack into the system. As the hacking option was not proving particularly fruitful (she had yet to find a loophole in Atlantis's security – damn linux and its near impregnable ways!), Marie figured that it was time to play dirty. Though distasteful to her, it was the only option she had left – and she was running out of time.


	16. Chapter 16

_Ah yes, another really short chapter. Sorry I haven't been able to update in so long, but real life has a tendency to interrupt one's plans. I considered holding off on posting anything until I had more to give you, but I figured I could instead try to post a little every few days, instead of something longer every three months. Let me know what you guys prefer :) And enjoy!_

Operation Get McKay's Password had a rather rocky start. Marie had foolishly figured that a direct approach had always worked for her, and decided to apply it to her current predicament. When McKay walked into his lab early the next morning, Marie was already waiting for him, sitting on one of the lab tables as she always did. He, in turn, shooed at her to get off with a loud grumble ("Why don't you ever sit on chairs like a normal person?") She shrugged and slid off. Feet once again planted on the floor, Marie crossed her arms and asked "Hey, can I have your password?"

McKay frowned at her. "No you can't have my password! What do you want it for, anyways?"

"I was just thinking that it would make it easier for me carry out my malevolent plans against Atlantis." There was a pause as McKay considered whether or not to take her seriously and Marie grinned. "It's just that I always have to wait for you to log me into the main systems whenever I want to do anything, and it would just save us both a lot of time and annoyance, mostly annoyance, if I was able to just log in myself." McKay looked hesitant, but he seemed to be considering Marie's proposition. "It'll make it easier for me to work on several things at the same time," she persisted, "thus giving you more time to hang out with the blond premed –"

"Dr. Keller," McKay corrected.

"Whatever." It was a pretty good argument, if Marie did say so herself. Well, except for the part where she dissed McKay's girlfriend and thus irritated the scientist. It was always fun to take a quip at Keller, though. The fact that she was not Marie's mom automatically made her an evil intruder, and evil intruders were open to pot shots. Rules were rules. McKay, however, did not appear to be of the same opinion. He merely scowled as he sniped at her to stop wasting time and get back to work.

Mentally kicking herself for making McKay angry when she clearly needed his cooperation, and hating Keller a little for being the cause of so much general irritation, Marie sighed and went on with her work.

***

It was decided, then. There was no way Marie was going to be able to complete the operation by herself. If her calculations were correct, she and Rachel had about three or four days to create a window to their own space-time, or risk being stranded forever. Not that she cared either way, if she was honest with herself. She had nothing in her world to go back to, and nothing in this one to stay for. She did, however, have a duty – promises to keep, debts to be repaid.

She would complete the mission if it killed her. Sometimes she rather hoped it would.


	17. Chapter 17

Rachel was back in the game...well, sort of. Dr. Z had mercifully granted her a spot in his lab, as he was interested in learning more about his alternate self's research. He seemed to think that such knowledge might give Atlantis an edge against its various enemies. Rachel was fine with that, as long as she had something to beat off the mind numbing boredom that had settled comfortably into her daily existence since arriving at this reality. One would think that an alien city in an alternate reality would have plenty of fascinating things to explore, but since most interesting things here were out of limits to her, she was left with pretty much nothing to do. And nothing to do left plenty of time to think – and every minute spent alone with her head piled more and more anxiety ridden thoughts. It was now almost impossible to shut her anxieties away in the back of her mind as she was usually able to. They mocked her for every day spent uselessly, powerlessly in this place. Little Timmy, her baby brother, was at the forefront of her worry – barely five and already struggling for his survival along with the rest of humanity. Sometimes Rachel wished she had stayed with him, like he had begged for her to, weeping profusely and gripping her leg tightly. Each time she did, however, Rachel reminded herself that the best way, the _only_ way to help him was by helping the SGC. But now she could not even do that, stuck in this stupid reality.

Rachel attempted to shake these thoughts off as she made for the door of her designated lab. Before her hand reached the doorknob, however, she felt something grip her forearm. Turning around, she saw Marie looking up at her, her hand clenching Rachel's arm. "Ow."

"Sorry." Marie let her go. "I just, uh, need to talk to you about something."

Marie's shifty manners and rather guilty expression made Rachel very uneasy. "What's wrong? What have you done?"

Marie's face changed to indignant. "Why would you automatically assume that _I _did something?"

"So you didn't?"

Marie looked guilty again. "Well, maybe a little. But it wasn't entirely my fault."

Rachel looked back at the lab door. She really did not want to be late, especially on her first day. "Can it wait?"

"That depends. Do you want to get back to our space-time?"

Rachel turned away from the door and took a step towards Marie. "Lab work can wait. What's happened?"

"We should probably find someplace else to talk."

***

Back in Rachel's room, Marie sat on the bed across from Rachel and looked down at her hands nervously. "The thing is," Marie started, "we'll, it's rather a long story." She inhaled and opened her mouth to say more, but then closed it. "I'm not really sure how to start."

"Start with how to get back home!"

"Right! Well, Dr. Z – _our_ Dr. Z – told me how. I mean, full set instructions. With little diagrams and stuff. Like, 'A Dummy's Guide to Alternate Realities.'" Marie forced a little laugh while Rachel's eyes got progressively wider. "I can get us back, but I won't do it until I get what I came for," Marie let the statement settle and then continued, "I've been working on it, but I've run into a wall. As it is, we don't have much time. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I'm going to need your help."

Rachel put a shaking hand over her eyes as she tried to process what Marie was saying. "Are you saying, are you telling me that you have known how to get us back all along but just...didn't feel like it?"

"No! Look, I was given specific instructions, and I can't go back until I've carried them out."

Rachel stood up abruptly. "This whole thing," she looked around at the room, "this _disaster_, was all part of some plan! A plan that I didn't even know about until right now?" Rachel turned back to Marie, tears brimming in her eyes. "Why was I not told! Why was I not given a choice!"

"Because you would have said no," Marie answered softly, her eyes downcast.

"Of COURSE I would have! This is madness! You don't know what you're doing, I sure as hell don't know what I'm supposed to do, and nobody in this place knows what's going on either!"

"And they can't! Not until we're done! Not a word, Rachel!" Marie sighed and shook her head, the strain of the past few days finally showing on her face. "This is stupid. We shouldn't be arguing about this. We need to complete the operation ASAP, and then skedaddle if we get chance. We don't have time to waste."

Rachel sat back down on her bed. Looking down at her hands, she allowed a single tear to escape. "How could you do this to me?" she whispered to her fingers.

"It wasn't my decision!"

"No, it was," Rachel sniffled a little but continued to look down. "You kept me in the dark. That was your decision."

Marie shook her head. "No, no. They told me that I couldn't –"

"What they told you is irrelevant." Rachel finally looked up. "We're out here alone. They don't have any power over us. You can do anything here without reprimands or punishments."

"My situation is a little more complicated than that, Rachel. It's way harder than you make it sound."

"It may have been hard for you, but it was worse for me. I had to live with the doubt, and the fear, and the complete powerlessness of not knowing. And I did it alone. At least you had Teyla."

"I didn't have _anybody_!" Marie shot back. "Getting too comfy with the people I'm supposed to be plotting against is not usually the best idea. I mean –"

Rachel held up a hand to stop her. "We're _plotting_ against them now?"

"To put it bluntly, yeah."

Rachel put a hand over her eyes again and breathed deeply. "I'm going to need to hear this story, from beginning to end. Marie, you have to tell me everything this time. No omissions."

Marie nodded her agreement. "Sure. I can do that."


	18. Chapter 18

The two girls sat uncomfortably in front of each other on Rachel's bed, both silent and grave. Marie did not speak for a few seconds as she gathered her thoughts and considered how to begin. "I guess it all started when those Wraith mother-ships arrived in Northern Russia," she said finally. "As you know, we believe they found the location of Earth on the Ancient database in Atlantis. Finding Atlantis itself must have been really easy, after the failsafe mechanism surfaced the city before it completely flooded over. After that, there was probably no energy left to shield or cloak Atlantis, which made the place easy pickings. I imagine that the Ancients thought the Wraith would have died out by the time all the ZPMs were depleted. Not a terribly unreasonable assumption considering that the Wraith were known to fight amongst themselves, and were not regarded as a particularly bright race in general. Gotta hand it to the Wraith, though – they sure showed 'em."

"I'm aware of all this already, Marie."

"I know, I know; I'm just trying to be thorough. Anyways, back to Russia. When those ships arrived, everyone pretty much knew we were goners. The Asgard, of course, did try to help out when the Wraith first showed up at our galaxy. Even the Goa'uld pitched in, not out of the kindliness in the hearts, but because they didn't appreciate the competition for hosts. The three of us, Humans, Asgard, and Goa'uld, would probably have won if it hadn't been for the Replicators."

"Since Wraith ships are organic, the Replicators couldn't touch them, but they wreaked havoc on everyone else. Right?"

"Right. This put us at a great disadvantage and eventually spelled our doom. After that, there wasn't much left to do but bring out the big guns, mostly literally. But Daniel Jackson, as always, took a different approach. He believed that the key to defeating the Wraith was hidden in a bunch of musty old books and tablets. The details escape me, but it was all very scholarly and impressive."

"Do you know what he found?"

"That I do. Apparently, one of Nirti's planets was previously home to a group of rogue Ancients who left Atlantis when the war with the Wraith first started to look bleak. Once out of harm's way, they worked to develop a weapon against the Wraith – as a last show of solidarity towards their people, I suppose. They figured that the best attack against the Wraith was through the weaknesses in the integrity of their body."

"Some sort of biological weapon?"

"Of sorts, but better. This weapon would harm not only the Wraith, but their ships as well. I mean, the two are essentially the same."

"Thus, their greatest strength becomes their weakness," mused Rachel.

"Exactly. Ideally, that's what would have happened. However, they never finished the project."

"Why? What happened?"

"Nobody really knows for sure. Jackson thinks that in the midst of their experimentation they unwittingly released some plague or chemical that eventually killed them all."

Rachel was taken a back. "I can't imagine that a race as advanced as the Ancients would make such a mistake."

"Some don't believe it was an mistake at all. Sabotage may have been involved. Luckily, though, the plague didn't spread beyond that planet."

"There probably wouldn't be any humans left if it had."

"Who knows. Anyhow, thousands of years later, the System Lord (or Lady, I should say) Nirti found the Ancient lab and ran a few experiments of her own. Jonas Quinn can tell you all about it."

"But then," Rachel said, "Nirti owned the weapon. Did we have to fight her for it?"

"We though we might have to, but the System Lords surprised us. They were like 'Yeah, you can have the weapon, we don't care. Just get rid of these Wraith pests so we can go back to hating each other like we're supposed to.' Of course, there were a bunch of treaties and agreements in between, but they essentially gave us the thing. After that, though, we had to figure out how the hell to get the weapon working. As you'll recall, the project wasn't finished. Naturally, they got Janet Frasier and Carson Beckett working on it. The Asgard helped a lot, since they had recently made huge advancements in their own physiology, and discovered many useful things in the process."

"Did they manage to get the weapon working?"

"Only partially," answered Marie. "By that, I mean that they figured out _how_ the weapon works. There was no way to actually get it running, though. It requires an unprecedented amount of power that not one of the three races could provide. I mean, on the scale of about twenty ZPMs. Don't ask me how they worked that out, because I have no idea. Something about affecting each individual Wraith molecule, which is apparently really hard. Well, since we don't have twenty ZPMs at our disposal, we had to come up with another way of creating power. Samantha Carter and my dad were at the head of that project, while Dr. Z was left to take care of all things scientific back at the SGC. Carter and my dad came up with some pretty neat stuff, apparently, but none of it was able to provide enough power. For a little while, though, it seemed like they were finally onto something, and everyone was really excited. That is, until the facility they were working at went boom, along with the rest of that planet. I guess they didn't get the memo about unstable power sources being, well, unstable." Marie paused as her voice seemed to catch on something.

"Was your dad there?" Rachel asked tentatively.

Marie swallowed. "Yeah. Lots of people were there."

"Oh, Marie, I'm really so–"

Marie held up a hand. "It's fine." There was a cold note of finality in Marie's voice. "So anyway, that plan didn't work out. The only option left was to somehow come up with twenty ZPMs. SG-1, or what was left of them, was able to get one, but they had to go back in time to do that, which was altogether way too much hassle and much too risky for any SG team. Their little stunt, however, gave Dr. Z an idea. I mean, there was no way to get the necessary power from our _own_ space-time. It simply doesn't exist...But that didn't mean we couldn't get it elsewhere."

Rachel rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I think I can see where you're going with this."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it."


End file.
